Hobbies and Crafts

l've managed to get Jeans 2 on and one of yours Jane, l will try and sort the rest later....grrrr

jude
PS...One of Jeans is the Cat and her Kittens:o)) x

I don't believe it lol.The Red Kite was just about 20ft above me .I thought it was after the dog!!!!.(I'm sure it wasn't) and my camera was in on the dining table.By the time I dashed in to get it ,it was gone .


It has just been back ,but higher.OH has got some pics that look good.He will email them to me and I will pass them on to you Jude.

Oooo, just going to look, will sort them tomorrow though, l have a couple from Jean of Monmouth too:o))

jude

Some photos sent now Jude.

Look forward to the photo's Jane:o)

DizzieLizzie......hope you don't too much agro from the voles, fascinating though:o)

jude

PS.... OooPs Jane good to see you back:o) my sister used to live in Ipswich. Sounds idylic where you were:o)

It was lovely Ann,but I have to say our cottage was so tiny.It was built in 1480 as a farm labourer's home.Way out in the sticks.A bit too far in the sticks for us really ,but the wildlife and the peace was just wonderful.Most of my photos were of birds .We had a rowing boat we could have used at the bottom of the garden on the Deben river .But there was a Swan with attitude so we didn't risk it lol.There was a wrens nest ,and I saw the babies ,I think on their first outing ,but sadly got no photo was in focus.Lovely photo of the swan though ,my favourite one from the whole holiday.
I think Dorset is more my choice ,but OH prefers Suffolk !!

Did you have a good time Jane? I know you said you resorted to Suffolk because of the journey to Dorset, was it as nice. It is years since we were in Suffolk

Just back from Suffolk.Jude I have a few pics to send to your blog.A most beautiful pheasant in the garden where we stayed.I have never seen one like it before.Will send them on tomorrow.

Yes Jude and Ann, I've been worried about our goldcrests since the winter. Although we didn't see them all the time, we saw one or two fairly regularly last year. I had thought I'd seen one once earlier this year but never seen any since. They're such gorgeous tiny little things but of course their size means they don't have much in the way of warmth reserves for the extended very cold weather we had.

I have to hope I was correct and that there's more than one to begin to swell numbers here again.

Lizzie

Ann.....we have had a few more Starlings, infact one parent was showing his/her babes how to use the bird bath earlier, went to take a photo and they flew off, and a few were on the front lawn. We have'nt put fat balls out for ages.
The other day Vic thought he saw a Bullfinch, infact it was a Goldfinch.....today we had a whole family of them,bout 6....beautiful:o)

No l did'nt know about the Goldcrest, thats sad!

jude

Has anyone else got a large number of starlings now this years babies are active? Our s are so greedy/hungry, they have demolished about 12 fat balls in two days, can't keep up with it.

did you see that the numbers of Goldcrests was sadly depleted due to the harsh winter?

In Dorset the place we stayed had a bird feeder and there was a bullfinch on it one day, didn't know they went to feeders in gardens.

It seems we're now sharing our garden with bank voles. Over the past couple of years I have seen them occasionally on the other side of the river, but yesterday when I went down to feed the ducks I noticed the grass under the willow tree was looking very slightly lumpy in sort of lines and circles. When I walked over there the bits that looked slightly raised were also very spongy underfoot and there was evidence of where something had been digging. Small circles where it looked like a whole had been made and then filled in again. OH has been on t'internet and discovered the reason. Suppose it was inevitable really but I wonder why they've chosen now to set up their squat and never before?

Apparently there's nothing much we can do about it. They don't have the benefit of moles that they eat pests, they're herbivores, so the bluebells that were down there may have gone the way of all flesh. Not such a bad thing as they are the wrong sort of bluebells (not native) which were here when we came and I'm not one for destroying things so we left them, but I'd prefer natives. Hope my aconites and snowdrops hold out though.

I hope they don't become a pest, but don't they know we've got 3 cats?

See the time l put this on....ll.ll.ll. :o)

jude

Photo of my mosaic on blog:o))

We had greenfinch plus 3 babes on lawn yesterday, also Vic thinks he saw a bullfinch. The woodpecker flew in and straight out on Fri, and the baby sparrows plus parents are back....yehhh:o))

Any photos to put on the blog please send to me, l think l ave sussed it now:o))

jude x

You lucky devils having all these water birds in your garden:o)

Ann.....pleased you had a nice time, we like Dorset too:o)

jude :o)

Jane, back home again now but, yes we were on holiday for a week in Burton Bradstock, different accommodation, mixed weather but mostly good and we had a lovely time.

We do have moorhens on the river too, but we haven't seen any babies from them this year. Mind you they're not so brave as the other water birds with the cats around as the adults are that much smaller.

That sounds lovely to have all those babies.We haven't any in our garden but the Moorhens that were in our Yew hedge earlier in the year have moved back next door and are parading their chicks.I can see them from my bedroom window.I have a horrible feeling though that there a couple of chicks missing.

At last. Yesterday just before I left the house for work the swans came by after a long absence. They have 3 cygnets that looked quite new so I hope they manage to keep them. Last year they had 5 or 6 which all seemed to make it to full size.

The mandarins who were sitting on our garden the other day now have 5 little chicks too, so we have quite a few little ones along with the mallard ducklings to be watching over.